


Episode 27: The Tokyo Christmas Market!

by lysscor



Series: 25 Days of Christmas [8]
Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Christmas Shopping, F/M, First Dates, They're so cute I hate them, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:02:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21724951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lysscor/pseuds/lysscor
Summary: Why exactly she agreed to this, Haruhi has no idea.She’s gone to the Tokyo Christmas Market every year for as long as she can remember. At first, it was always just her and her mother. They’d pick out gifts for her father, and decorations for the tree, and interesting spices and sauces to try for dinners. After her mother died, Haruhi’s father had gone with her, but it wasn’t quite the same. She’d taken to going by herself as soon as she was old enough to, and has done so every year since.This year, however, she isn’t going alone. This year, Tamaki is coming with her.
Relationships: Fujioka Haruhi/Suoh Tamaki
Series: 25 Days of Christmas [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1548013
Comments: 1
Kudos: 80





	Episode 27: The Tokyo Christmas Market!

**Author's Note:**

> i am and always will be weak for ouran high school host club and especially for tamaharu theyre so in loVE  
> is this my best work? definitely not. am i still crying about how adorable and in love they are? yes. yes i am.
> 
> Today's prompt: Christmas Market!! (I LOVE christmas markets omg ive gone to three already this year and theres another one this weekend and even though i do NOT have time... im there)

Why exactly she agreed to this, Haruhi has no idea. 

She’s gone to the Tokyo Christmas Market every year for as long as she can remember. At first, it was always just her and her mother. They’d pick out gifts for her father, and decorations for the tree, and interesting spices and sauces to try for dinners. After her mother died, Haruhi’s father had gone with her, but it wasn’t quite the same. She’d taken to going by herself as soon as she was old enough to, and has done so every year since.

This year, however, she isn’t going alone. This year, Tamaki is coming with her.

It wasn’t her idea, obviously. He’d wanted her to help him plan some ridiculous host club event (“A Christmas party, but commoner themed!”), and naturally wouldn’t take “I already have plans that day” as an answer. So, she’d had to tell him about the market, and he’d had to go all sparkly eyed and excited, and she (morally, and maybe legally) could not say no when he decided he would come with her.

At least it’s only Tamaki. She doesn’t think she could handle all of them.

A tiny voice somewhere in the back of her mind, sounding suspiciously like her father, has been telling her this is maybe, possibly, kind of,  _ almost  _ like a date. 

She’s made the conscious decision to ignore it. If she thinks of this as a date, even subconsciously, she  _ knows _ Tamaki will catch on to those brainwaves and be absolutely insufferable. So, it isn’t a date. 

… But that doesn’t mean she couldn’t dress nicely today. It’s not like she did it specifically for Tamaki, or anything. 

Speaking of Tamaki…

“Haruhi!”

He’s jogging toward her from the other side of the parking lot, waving, with a paper coffee cup in either hand. People are staring, of course. Probably wondering what this beautiful, well dressed golden retriever of a man is doing bounding across an icy parking lot with two very spillable drinks in hand. Haruhi already wants the ground to swallow her up, and they haven’t even gone inside yet.

He skids to a halt in front of her, overbalances, and it’s only Haruhi’s quick hand on his back that stops him from falling backwards onto the ground.

“Hi, Senpai,” she says once he’s righted himself. She gestures at the paper cups; they miraculously don’t seem to have spilled even a drop. “What have you got there?”

“Mulled apple cider,” he says proudly, shoving one into her hands. “It was on the coffee shop’s Holiday Specials menu.”

“Thanks,” she says, taking a sip. It’s still hot. “But you really didn’t have to get me anything.”

“I know. But I had to go past the place anyway.” His expression turns worried. “You haven’t been waiting long, have you? I meant to be here sooner, but the trains are so hard to navigate…”

“You took the train?”

“Yeah! Since we’re going to a commoner market, I wanted to have the full commoner experience.” He smiles sheepishly. “But I got off at the wrong station, and then I got a little lost, and I had to call Kyoya for directions. He wasn’t very happy.”

“I can imagine.” She looks at the entrance to the building. It’s been decorated with a string of fairy lights around the entire doorway. It’s still light outside, but she knows that as soon as the sun goes down, the lights will be twinkling in shades of red and gold. A red and green banner above reads  _ Tokyo Christmas Market, 2006. _ “Well,” she says. “You’re here now. Shall we go in?”

He grins brightly. He looks, for a second, like he’s going to take her hand - but then he shoves his hand into the pocket of his coat, and gestures at the entrance with the other one. “Ladies first.”

***

Tamaki can hardly contain his excitement. He’s trying hard not to bounce up and down as they pay and enter (only  _ five hundred yen! _ Imagine that!), but only because he knows it would embarrass Haruhi. She made him promise to act “normal” before she’d agreed to let him come, which he’s guessing means he has to act as much like a commoner as he can. Hence, taking the train. He knew she’d yell at him if he pulled up in one of his family’s cars, but the train had been so much more confusing than he’d ever imagined.

Who knew there were so many stops? 

“It’s so  _ small _ in here,” he notes. The ceilings are really quite low, and the lights and tinsel dangling from them makes them look even  _ lower _ . The room they’re in is absolutely miniscule, and so crowded with people and decorations that there’s barely room to walk. He looks around, but he can’t see any of the artisans Haruhi told him about.

“Where are the vendors?” he asks.

“Through there,” she says, pointing at an archway lined with plastic holly.

“I see! This is just the antechamber. Why didn’t you say so in the first place?”

She looks for a moment like she wants to punch him, and then she shakes her head. “Let’s just go in.”

Walking through the archway feels like stepping into a whole new world. The room beyond is enormous - at least, in comparison to the first. The ceiling is still rather low, but Tamaki is starting to realize that’s simply a commoner thing.

It’s crowded, too, but charmingly so. Less like the streets of the business district during lunch breaks, and more like school festivals: pleasant and cozy, buzzing with warmth and excitement. Laughter and chatter fill the room, pushing Tamaki’s excitement to impossible heights. He feels like he’s about to burst from it. Rows of tables line the walls and stretch through the centre of the room, showcasing everything from knitted sweaters to artisanal soap to steelwork. There’s so much to do and see he doesn’t know where to even start.

He turns to Haruhi with a thousand watt grin. “This place is  _ wonderful _ .”

She smiles. “It’s pretty nice. Where do you want to start?”

He looks around again, his gaze settling on a table to their right, where a young lady with a pink bow in her hair is selling homemade baked goods. 

“There,” he says. “We can get some commoner cupcakes for Honey-senpai!”

She nods thoughtfully. “Good idea. We should buy those last, though, so we’re not carrying them around for too long. Why don’t we start beside that table and make our way around the room back to it?”

“A game plan! I like it.” He gives her a salute. “Lead the way!”

***

He really  _ is _ like a golden retriever, Haruhi thinks. All bright eyes and blond hair and bounding steps. He’s practically  _ vibrating _ with excitement. There are six year olds less enthusiastic. If he suddenly sprouted floppy ears and a wagging tail, she would not at all be surprised. 

“Wow, Haruhi! Look at this! It’s soap, lotion, and exfoliant  _ all at once _ . Genius, isn’t it?”

“Haruhi, do you think Hikaru would like this? Or would he like this once better? Oh! I should get one for Kaoru too.”

“Only 2500 yen for wine? Incredible! Maybe I should get some for my father.”

It’s… kind of cute, honestly.

“Haruhi? What do you think of this?”

“Hm?” She feels her cheeks go pink, and shakes her head to clear it. “Sorry, what was that?”

***

She lost Tamaki. 

One minute he was right next to her, rambling on about something or other (she was only half listening) while she compared some foreign spices, and the next he was just  _ gone _ . She didn’t even hear him stop talking. She’s still standing where she was when he vanished, looking out around the crowd in the hopes of spotting a flash of blond hair, but there’s no sign of him. 

She wonders if she should be worried. How much trouble could he get into, really? It’s just a craft market; it’s not like anything bad could  _ really _ happen to him. 

… Then again, this  _ is _ Tamaki. 

She should  _ definitely _ be worried.

Her eyes fall to the table next to her - a young woman sits behind a miniature tree, from which hand crafted ornaments are hanging. One in particular catches her eye, making her smile.

She can find him later.

***

“ _ There  _ you are, Haruhi! I’ve been looking all over!”

She tries to quash the rush of relief at the sight of him materializing from the crowd. He’s got at least two more bags than the last time she saw him; she wonders if he plans on getting gifts here for every person he’s ever met.

“Hi, Senpai,” she says. “Where’d you wander off to?”

“I didn’t wander off,” he says, scandalised. “ _ You’re _ the one who disappeared. I was worried sick.”

“I was standing right there -”

“No matter,” he says quickly. “Look what I bought for Kyoya!”

He holds up a black leather-bound notebook. It’s quite similar to the one Kyoya has already, but it has a long strip of leather to tie it closed, with an ornate wooden button to seal it.

“It’s handmade!” he says, as proudly as if he made it himself. “The gentleman selling them told me it takes him  _ two weeks _ to make each notebook. Incredible, isn’t it?”

“That  _ is _ cool,” she says, and he beams like she complimented him personally. “Well, what way now? We must have wandered through the whole market by now.”

He frowns. “Already?”

“What do you mean _ already _ ? We’ve been here for almost two hours.”

“Have we really?” He checks the time on his phone, and his eyes go wide. “We  _ have _ !”

“Have you got everything you need?” She gestures at the multitude of bags in his arms. “How many people are you buying gifts for, anyway?”

“Let’s see… the Host Club, obviously, and Renge too… Bossa Nova… Nekozawa… Shiro Takaoji; you remember him, right? And Kyoya’s sister; she’s always been so nice to me… my father, your father -”

“You bought something for my dad?” she asks, incredulous. 

“Of course I did! He’s your dad, after all; it would be rude of me not to. I just hope he likes it.”

“I’m sure he will,” she lies. “That was really nice of you, Senpai.”

His face reddens. “It was nothing, really. What about you? Did you find anything interesting?”

“Sort of.” She holds up her paper bag. “I got gifts for the Host Club and for my dad, and some spices to use for dinner tonight. Plus a Christmas tree ornament. The first year my mom brought me, I saw one that looked just like my teddy bear and she bought it for me. And the next year, there was one that reminded me of my dad, so we bought that one.” She smiles sadly. “The first time I came without her, I found an ornament shaped like a  _ koto _ \- like her name. I didn’t even have to say anything for my dad to buy it. So now I get one here every year, and they always remind me of something special. Or someone.” She shrugs. “It’s sort of a tradition now.”

Tamaki is looking at her so warmly that it makes her chest tighten, and she looks away.

“Can I see it?” he asks. “The one you bought this year?”

Haruhi feels her face go red. “I mean - I guess.” Her voice comes out an octave higher than usual. “If you want to. It’s kind of - I mean, it’s… sure.”

She digs through her bag until she finds it - a tiny thing wrapped in red tissue paper. She thrusts it into his hand, looks pointedly at her feet, and tries not to blush as she listens to him unwrap it.

Tamaki holds the ornament up to the light - a tiny golden retriever with violet eyes. “Who does it remind you of?”

She looks up at him to see if he’s joking, but his face shows genuine confusion. He’s holding it up so she can see, head tilted in confusion, and she can’t help but laugh at the resemblance.

“No one in particular.”

**Author's Note:**

> okay so this originally was going to have like two more scenes to it but i have to leave for work in like ten minutes and i'm not even dressed yet so those scenes might just have to be written into a separate christmas fic
> 
> See you guys tomorrow! You can find the full prompt list on @lysscorwriting on instagram if you want to join the challenge!


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